Remembrance or Veterans?

[Edward Campbell]

I see that VAC has declared the week 5 to 11 Nov to be Veterans Week.

I remember my first Remembrance Day in uniform. I was a recruit. Our platoon sergeant, a 2WW veteran, gave us each a poppy - I recall it well because something rare happened: he spoke to us, rather than snarling, as was his norm. He gave us each a poppy and showed us how to pin it to our caps - that's where we wore them in the 1960s. He also gave us each a little pice of rubber to put over the end of the pin - poppies fell off, easily, then, too.

A few years later, when I was a junior officer we marched in a parade in Kingston and we were told that it would be good to visit that Legion. It was interesting: a few of the vets wanted to tell us about their experiences; most were indifferent to us and wanted too talk amongst themselves - very understandable, I think, but a few looked askance at us and told us "we were there when Canada was needing 'em, not just feeding 'em."

I believe we need a Remembrance Day, something which is about those who made the supreme sacrifice, NOT about veterans who made it safely home to bed.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

Fully agree with you, Edward. It IS and should REMAIN remembrance day. And it is to remember those that are not with us anymore. If you want to have some day to thank all those who served, then make a separate Veterans day holiday some other time.

 

[medicineman]

I guess now we need to figure out what month doesn't have a Federal Stat Holiday for where it would be appropriate...or should we leave it up to the Provincial and Territorial governments to come up with their own day?

 

[Blackadder1916]

I believe we need a Remembrance Day, something which is about those who made the supreme sacrifice, NOT about veterans who made it safely home to bed.

Thank you for your annual rant. I fully agree with you.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

IMHO, veterans (I am one, by any reasonable definition, although I don’t feel like one) don’t need a stat holiday. Remembrance Day also should not be a Stat Holiday. I think it cheapened things to make it anything other than a day of solemn duty for those who care.

 

[Edward Campbell]

IMHO, veterans (I am one, by any reasonable definition, although I don’t feel like one) don’t need a stat holiday. Remembrance Day also should not be a Stat Holiday. I think it cheapened things to make it anything other than a day of solemn duty for those who care.

I, personally, an somewhat inclined towards the Brit idea of Remembrance Sunday - NOT a "holiday," just Remembrance Day.

 

[Blackadder1916]

As I have on a few other threads when the topic is similar to this or when July 1 is approaching, I remind others that in Newfoundland there is another day when our nation (dominion, colony or province to be used at your preference) pauses in solemn remembrance of our war dead. Now that a festive celebration of Canada Day is the norm, down home the morning of July 1 is reserved for "Memorial Day" ceremonies. And November 11 was called Armistice Day.

 

[dimsum]

IMHO, veterans (I am one, by any reasonable definition, although I don’t feel like one) don’t need a stat holiday. Remembrance Day also should not be a Stat Holiday. I think it cheapened things to make it anything other than a day of solemn duty for those who care.

I don’t think Remembrance Day is a Stat in all provinces. I don’t think it’s one in ON…?

 

[mariomike]

I don’t think it’s one in ON…?

Always was in our little corner of it...

Article 12 – DESIGNATED AND STATUTORY HOLIDAYS12.01 (a) The days to be designated as holidays by the City in each year during the term of this Agreement shall be the following: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Remembrance Day (when Remembrance Day falls on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday).

12.01 (b) When any of the above named holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday (excepting Remembrance Day), the Friday preceding or the Monday following such holiday shall be designated by the City as the day of observance of such holiday

 

[Furniture]

The reality is, if Remembrance Day doesn't evolve to suit the current generation's needs/expectations, it will be forgotten. The Remembrance Day ceremonies are always very much about those who didn't come home, but in the week leading up to, and the remainder of the day after the ceremony being focused on both the dead, and veterans isn't a bad thing.

People my age (early 40s) grew up when WWII veterans were already old, and there were few WWI veterans left. My Grandfather was in his 70s when I joined the CAF back in 2001, which means people younger than me are unlikely to have ever actually known a WWII veteran. I raise this point because once history is out of the average person's living memory, it's "ancient". Which in turn means that the rituals tied to those "ancient" events become less meaningful/relevant to the average person. By tying Veteran's Week to Remembrance Day we link the "ancient" to current events, and keep the connection to those "ancient" events alive.

On a related note, how many people marked Trafalgar Day last Monday, or St. Crispin's day yesterday? Important dates in the Anglosphere world, but forgotten moments to the average person.

 

[brihard]

I don’t think Remembrance Day is a Stat in all provinces. I don’t think it’s one in ON…?

It’s not a provincial stat holiday in Ontario. Many unionized public sector employers do give it as a day off, and many other employers give give a partial or full day off. Nine are required to.

 

[Edward Campbell]

I don’t think Remembrance Day is a Stat in all provinces. I don’t think it’s one in ON…?

Nor is it in Manitoba,Québec or Nova Scotia.

 

[Oldgateboatdriver]

But its never stopped me from taking the time out on my own dime to attend the ceremony at the cenotaph downtown Montreal. And I am not alone!

 

[Colin Parkinson]

The crowd at our cenotaph here in North Van can be easily over 1,000 people

 

[ModlrMike]

Not a stat in MB, but in practice treated as such.

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

As the years pass and the numbers decline, Remembrance Day is becoming more of a memory than a living moment
Veterans of the Second World War would range 97 and 103 if they were 18 on the first day or the last day of the war.
There are fewer and fewer veterans of the Second World War. Korean War ( Police Action as it was not a war on paper) they would be all in their 90s if not older as a lot of them were Second World War vets, some were younger. ( My great uncle if alive was 17ish when he joined up has been deceased for decades)

The veterans of various Peace Making , Peace Keeping and the War on Terror range from mid 30s to late 60s depending on the dates of service.


The 11 November date should be kept as a day of Remembrance for our fallen no matter the action or war. I dislike the idea of a National Holiday to honour the day, as I believe it would become nothing more than a long weekend, or mid week vacation for some.
I think it should be a day of education for students in primary and high schools. The public service workers get all the days off and it becomes meaningless for some.

Maybe there should be a Veterans Days on another day of the year, where the living Veteran and Serving members. Canadians do not understand the service that is preformed now that war is not on the 6 and 11 oclock news or in the social media of their choice. Canadians forget there is a military untill they need something done.

But leave 11 Novemeber alone. Some of us need a day to honor our family members and to remember our friends who have gone before their time,

 

[Halifax Tar]

I think we too often associate Remembrance Day with WW1, 2 and Korea only.

We lost roughly 130 Canadians on Peacekeeping Missions and 159 in Afghanistan. Not to mention the countless wounded.

We have generations of military sacrifice that should be remembered and revered. And I suspect we will have more in the future, soon. The Legion and other "veterans" services would do well to embrace those newer generations lest their cause fades away into the either.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

I think we too often associate Remembrance Day with WW1, 2 and Korea only.

We lost roughly 130 Canadians on Peacekeeping Missions and 159 in Afghanistan. Not to mention the countless wounded.

We have generations of military sacrifice that should be remembered and revered. And I suspect we will have more in the future, soon. The Legion and other "veterans" services would do well to embrace those newer generations lest their cause fades away into the either

I have been asked by the Town to be the Parade Commander for this years Remembrance Day Parade which will be my second year doing it. I am the only person that lives in this town who has any sort of lengthy Military Service other than a few people who had a cup of coffee with the Reserve Unit in Timmins.

I am actually quite surprised that the Lake Superior Regiment does not send representatives here for the ceremony. Canada's most decorated Indigenous soldier of WW2 is from here and served in that Regiment. Seems like a missed opportunity by the CAF TBH, especially considering there are 4 Nations in the area with a very impressive service record.

Charles Henry Byce - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

I am also invited to the local ceremony that the Chapleau Fox Lake Cree Nations holds. They do their own ceremony on the 8th of November with just the band members present.

 

[The Bread Guy]

... I am actually quite surprised that the Lake Superior Regiment does not send representatives here for the ceremony. Canada's most decorated Indigenous soldier of WW2 is from here and served in that Regiment. Seems like a missed opportunity by the CAF TBH, especially considering there are 4 Nations in the area with a very impressive service record.

Charles Henry Byce - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

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Father also apparently won a DCM in WW1.

 

[Humphrey Bogart]

Father also apparently won a DCM in WW1.

Correct.

I think Remembrance Day will need to change. I agree with the sentiment that WW1 & WW2 can basically be considered ancient history at this point. I grew up knowing WW2 Veterans but young people today have no concept of it. I don't even really know what they teach in Schools anymore regarding Military History?